Baghdad Blast Kills 6
A suicide car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army recruitment center in northern Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least six Iraqis and wounding 44, police said. On the other side of the capital, Iraq's parliament briefly adjourned after a legislator claimed he had been roughed up at a U.S. checkpoint.
The blast occurred in the Azamiyah section of the capital about 18 yards from the front gate of the center and the fatalities included at least two soldiers, said police Col. Hussein Mutlaq. All the casualties appeared to be Iraqi, he said.
One of the main goals of the U.S.-led coalition in the 2-year-old war is to train Iraqi security forces to replace American soldiers in the field, and insurgents often target centers where such security forces are being recruited and instructed.
In other developments:
Elsewhere, Iraqi security forces began scaling back their search operation in Madain, a town south of Baghdad in Iraq's "Triangle of Death," where reports that Sunni militants had taken up to 100 Shiites hostage turned out to be false. The reports raised fears that the crisis could cause widespread Sunni-Shiite fighting in Iraq.
Sunni Arabs make up 15 to 20 percent of Iraq's 26 people, but many of them boycotted Iraq's national election in January or stayed away because of fears the polls would attacked. Efforts are under way to make sure they are part of the government being formed in a country with a Shiite majority and a significant Kurd minority.
On Tuesday morning, Iraq's National Assembly briefly delayed its session to protest the alleged mistreatment of a Shiite legislator by a soldier at a U.S. checkpoint outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, where parliament meets in central Baghdad.
In an emotional speech to the legislature, a sobbing Fattah al-Sheik, whose small party has been linked to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said the American soldier had kicked his car, mocked the legislature, handcuffed him and held him by the neck.
"What happened to me represents an insult to the whole National Assembly that was elected by the Iraqi people. This shows that the democracy we are enjoying is fake. Through such incidents, the U.S. Army tries to show that it is the real controlling power in the country, not the new Iraqi government, and that it can impose its rules on every Iraqi," he said.
U.S. forces said they had heard of the incident and were investigating it.
Before the legislative session resumed, lawmaker Salam al-Maliki met with reporters to read a statement from the assembly demanding an apology from the U.S. Embassy and the prosecution of the U.S. soldier who allegedly had mistreated al-Sheik.
Hajim al-Hassani, the parliament speaker, said: "We reject any sign of disrespect directed at lawmakers. The National Assembly members ... should be treated in an appropriate way."
The search of Madain by hundreds of Iraqi security forces began Monday. They found weapons, car bombs and a suspected insurgent training facility, but no hostages.
On Tuesday, shops began to reopen in the agricultural town of about 1,000 families, far fewer security forces were seen on patrol, and the ones who had been guarding rooftoops were removed. However, Madain remained surrounded by Iraqi forces, who continued to search all vehicles leaving or entering it.
The U.S. military, which has praised Iraqi security forces for leading the operation, continued to stand by in case they were needed.
Madain, evenly divided between Shiites and Sunnis, is located at the northern edge of a region considered a stronghold of the militant Sunni insurgency.
"The city is now under full control," interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's office said Monday, adding that 10 suspected insurgents were arrested and large amounts of weapons seized.
On Sunday, National Security Minister Qassim Dawoud warned parliament of attempts to draw the country into sectarian war. On Monday, he pledged to "chase down terror everywhere" and said Iraqi forces had discovered mines, ammunition and bomb-making equipment along with six completed car bombs in Madain.
Those detained included four "sword men" believed to have conducted killings for the insurgents, national security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie said. Cells for holding prisoners were also found, he said.